October 30, 2006

Thanks for the comments yesterday. Like yesterday, this was scanned from film. As you can tell my film scanner is pretty basic, it can’t get all the detail or the dynamic range. But due to economic reasons I’ve to make do with it.

October 29, 2006

Reading this made me realize how deep-seated the belief is, especially in India, that homosexuality is an “undesirable, unhealthy, unnatural and abnormal behaviour increasing without control” to quote the words of the author of the above article. An article in which he rails against the open letter written by many eminent writers, artists, human rights activists and others calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality in India by overturning Article 377 of the Indian constitution. What I find even more disquieting is that the writer is apparently a qualified paramedical professional. Here we have a person connected to the medical field who argues that homosexuality should not be decriminalized because, and I quote here,

“…it is an altogether socially, ethically and medically unacceptable idea to treat them as normal. There are no homosexuals among any species of animals. Such practice is fundamentally against nature. With all our sympathy, we have to treat them as abnormal.”

In closing, he wants this to be “a wake-up call for the guardians of traditional morality and ethics”. I utterly disagree with this oft-argued but blinkered view of homosexuality, especially from a scientific point of view. To counter the major argument that it is unnatural here is a link to a seminal book available on Amazon.

The author painstakingly collected documented evidence on animal behavior in which scientists, due to their personal prejudices, completely ignored or overlooked obvious and widespread homosexual behavior among as many as 450 species of animals. An excerpt:

“Astounding as it sounds, a number of scientists have actually argued that when a female Bonobo wraps her legs around another female … while emitting screams of enjoyment, this is actually “greeting” behavior, or “appeasement” behavior … almost anything, it seems, besides pleasurable sexual behavior.”

That book and the studies it cites should completely debunk the ”its unnatural” argument. Apart from that, police and the so-called ‘moral guardians of culture’ in India have used the law to harass homosexuals. So if not anything, it is a basic denial of human rights to selectively target human beings solely on the basis of their (different) sexual preference. Just as we have a right to freedom of speech there should be a right to sexual preference as well. For the latter is admittedly a more personal and private choice than the former. Therefore, it is justified to demand that the unjust and inhumane Article 377 be overturned.

October 28, 2006

October 27, 2006

October 26, 2006

India is heading for a job supply deficit says the International Herald Tribune (article here). The paper quotes a NASSCOM survey to show that only one in four engineering graduates is considered employable. The reasons have been open secrets for the past decade: lack of depth in technical knowledge, lack of English speaking skills, lack of team skills. Over the past few years, I’ve had the occasion to stand in on and conduct several interviews for engineers in India’s IT capitals, Hyderabad and Bangalore. What I noticed first hand was that they could be broken up into categories based on types of ignorance:

1. Ignorance of technological basics (such as a software engineer who fails to differentiate between an OS and a programming language. Or who doesn’t know what is a Software Development Lifecycle).

2. Ignorance of latest developments in their specific technical arena (While those in this category are sound on the basics, they are not aware of the latest versions of the very development platforms on which they work and earn their living, or of any of the technological changes in the field. Inexcusable in the Information age).

3. Ignorance of Business applications of technology: These are those young engineers who cant tell what is the role of the software they’re developing in the client’s business, or even what is the very business function that it addresses.

4. Ignorance of People skills: These are those brilliant minds that know not what to say and where. That are totally tongue tied with strangers and turn mute if forced into a group that contains members of the opposite sex. Social inhibition, conservative atmosphere of Indian society and lack of training in leadership skills at school level all contribute to this.

5. Ignorance of social etiquette: Coming to a corporate meeting unshaven while wearing bathroom slippers maybe “cool” but never “acceptable”.

6. Lack of adaptability: Cannot adapt to change of town, much less change of country. If based abroad, they never try to integrate or embrace the local culture.

7. Trend chasing: Running after whichever technology is hot this season and doing a course for certification in it, irrespective of aptitude and career plan. Examples include Y2K, e-commerce, .net, Cold Fusion…the list goes on…most prominent is SAP consultancy. Every dissatisfied IT engineer wants to do a SAP course since SAP implementation jobs are high paying whereas it contributes little to the resume in the long-run.

8. Functional Cocoons: This category of techies has such a high degree of specialisation that they never invest in enhancing their skills.

9. Directionless jobhopping: Frequently changing jobs for no reason except higher pay. No focus on career planning or personal development is noticeable.

10. Poor language skills: Inability to describe effectively even the projects that they’ve completed as students, in comprehensible English, or even in their mother tongues.

These 10 ghosts of sins past haunt the Indian IT industry. The ten heads of the demon that ferment and grow in uninspiring Indian IT factories.